


Silverflower

by virvatulilla



Category: Original Work
Genre: Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 01:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14581692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virvatulilla/pseuds/virvatulilla
Summary: Draien has been crushing on Vicos for a long time, but surely he doesn't think of Draien as more than a friend...Canon world AU for my original characters (Draien/Vicos).





	Silverflower

“...and can you believe what she did next?” Vicos was saying to Geras when Draien slipped into the common room. “She said that I had– oh, hello, Draien.”

Draien had thought he was being discreet, but it was as if Vicos had super senses when it came to him. If he was completely honest with himself, it gave him a bit of hope regarding his feelings towards Vicos.  _ Vicos might feel similar attraction to me as I do to him _ , Draien thought, but quickly discarded the thought. How could Vicos of all people have romantic feelings for him? Surely he thought of Draien more like a friend.

Vicos stood up and came to Draien’s side. “I was waiting for you,” he said. “Come with me.”

Geras didn’t look bothered that he didn’t hear the rest of Vicos’s story – as soon as Vicos stood up Geras got back to the letter he was holding in his hand. Draien followed Vicos out of the room.

“Where are we going?” Draien asked when Vicos led him to the garage. “I was under the impression that you wanted to talk with me.”

Vicos gave Draien a mischievous smile as he brought him to a steam wagon. “That’s what I thought too,” he said, “but then I remembered there’s a fair in the city and I promised to go there.”

Draien climbed into the wagon after Vicos. “Are you meeting someone there? Why are you bringing me then?”

“No, someone paid me to be a part of their contest,” Vicos explained as the wagon started moving. Draien hadn’t seen Vicos give instructions to the driver, so he had probably done it earlier. “But I might as well enjoy the fair as well. And I remember you said you haven’t been on a fair since the last time you were here. And since that was five years ago I thought you’d be interested to come with me.”

Draien mumbled a thank you to Vicos and turned to look out of the window. It made him weirdly happy to know Vicos had remembered what he had said. Draien didn’t even remember when they had talked about fairs, so he wondered how long ago it had been.

You couldn’t drive a steam wagon downtown during the fair, so Vicos and Draien stepped out when they were as close to the fair as they were allowed to go.

As soon as they walked into the fair area Draien felt a pang in his chest. Most of the people he was seeing were wearing dashingly bright scarves or hats, and a metallic flower on their hair or somewhere on their clothes. Of course there had to be a way you were supposed to dress on a fair, this was Doreia, and there were always things like that here.

“What’s the matter?” Vicos asked, noticing Draien’s slight regret immediately.

Draien sighed. “You should’ve told me there was a dress code to this event,” he said. “I already feel out of place.”

“Oh,” Vicos said, smiling. “But it isn’t a dress code. You can buy those things on the fair. You’re not the only one not wearing those. I’m not going to buy them because I already have too many, but if you want I can buy you a silverflower.”

Draien said he would think about it. Vicos had made him feel at ease, and now he felt like he could start actually enjoying the fair. The crowd was big, so Vicos took Draien’s hand, saying it was the only way they surely wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd. Draien was glad Vicos wasn’t looking at him when he said that, because he was sure his face was blushing deep red.

There was apparently still a lot of time until Vicos had to honor his promise, because they spent a lot of time walking around the fair. Draien would’ve paid for the sweets he ate, but Vicos insisted on paying. He said that he had more money than he needed in any case. Draien wondered for a moment if it was a romantic gesture, but quickly discarded the idea. He shouldn’t assume things, especially since he had no idea how Vicos acted when he was genuinely interested in someone.

“So, what kind of silverflower do you want?” Vicos asked, stopping in front of a stall with a lot of metallic flowers on display. “I know you said you’d think about it but I kind of want to give you something that will remind you of me.”

Draien frowned. “Why don’t you make one of these yourself and not buy me one then?”

Vicos laughed and shook his head. “That wouldn’t be polite,” he explained. “The people who make silverflowers have practiced their craft for years, some decades. Look at these beauties. Do you think I could make something like this without years of practice?”

Draien looked at the metallic flowers closer. From further away they looked like simple flowers made of metal, but when he inspected them closer he saw that they were minutely detailed. The iridescent coating on the petals also changed color depending on the direction you looked at it.

“What flower is this?” Draien asked, picking up a small, pale blue-tinted flower. “Do these also have symbolism like the fiosai do with their flower crowns?”

“You picked a good one,” said the person selling the flowers. “That one symbolises a strong bond between the giver and the receiver. This people usually buy the romantic ones more but personally I like that one more. It can mean many things.”

Vicos peeked over Draien’s shoulder. “Oh, a life flower,” Vicos said before Draien could put the flower down. “Geras gave me a real one once, but I gave it to Serrence. It was a good reuse of that.”

Draien hastily put the metallic flower down. “What about that thing you promised to do?” he asked Vicos. “Isn’t it getting late?”

“Youre exactly right,” Vicos said, grabbing Draien’s arm. “We need to run there.”

They got to the event place just in time. “I was about to be forced to say the contest wouldn’t be held because you didn’t show up!” the person standing in front of an archery range said to Vicos as he stopped in front of the gates with Draien, panting slightly. “Is your friend a part of the prize as well or–?”

“He’s here to compete for the prize,” Vicos interrupted, gave money to the organizer, and turned to Draien, lowering his voice. “I still want to say something to you, but first, I want you to win this.”

Draien was a bit puzzled, but as Vicos vanished somewhere with the contest organizer while he was escorted onto the archery grounds.

The relatively small area was quite full of people. Most of them looked like nobility, dressed in expensive clothes and sparkling clean shoes despite the dust on the streets. Draien wondered what Vicos had promised to get that many nobles to take part in a simple archery contest. He knew from experience that noble aaniedelins didn’t like to use a bow and arrow, because they thought such a thing was for peasants.

Draien couldn’t say he excelled in archery either, but at least he had used a bow and arrow before. Judging by the looks on some people they had never even touched a bow in their life.

“Here to win?” asked someone at Draien’s shoulder. He turned around to see a vaguely familiar-looking young man smiling at him. “I saw you coming in with Vicos, and you’re checking out your opponents.”

Draien shrugged. “I guess that’s what Vicos wants,” he muttered. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“I’m Dito, Vicos’s friend,” the young man introduced himself. “We know each other from the house of pleasure. I’m here as a referee, and if I need to, I will protect Vicos from his promise.”

Draien didn’t have time to ask what the promise was when an excited murmur from the crowd made him look to the side from the targets. Vicos, looking more handsome than before, was standing there beside the contest organizer.

“Welcome, welcome,” said the organizer. “Today we have a special guest offering a prize, which is why the price to enter was also higher. Your own Vicos Benoutinan promised this day’s winner the rest of this day until next morning with him. At the establishment most of you are most likely familiar with.”

_ Wait _ , Draien thought.  _ What does that mean Vicos wanted me to win for? Does he want to get out of the deal? There’s no way he would want to… But what if he does…? _

There was plenty of tie for Draien to have a debate with himself while waiting for his turn to shoot. There were only four targets, so the participants had to be divided in eight groups. Half of each group would be eliminated from the competition on the first round. The three fourths of that on the second round, so the third round would only have four competitors, of which only one would receive a prize.

“Hey, shorty. Are you even old enough to be competing?”

Draien looked at the girl who had addressed him. “Of course,” he answered. “I may be short but I’m of age. If I may ask… why are you competing?”

The girl gave a short laugh. “Are you kidding? This is the best bargain of the year.” When she saw how confused Draien was still, she explained some more. “As pleasure goes, Vicos’s company is the most expensive thing in the whole city. The entrance fee is a tenth of the prize his company costs per  _ hour _ . You probably participated because he looks good if you don’t know this, but I’ve heard it’s worth every coin.”

Through the first two rounds Draien was mostly thinking about what the girl had said about Vicos. He had heard a lot about Vicos’s sex life from Geras, Serrence, as well as from Vicos himself, but he was surprised to learn about the price. Vicos certainly wasn’t one to brag about that, and Draien was slightly surprised his siblings didn’t know about it. But, on one hand, if they knew, Vicos would never hear the end of being the most expensive pleasure in the capital.

The prize himself was looking already satisfied, watching the contest from the sidelines. When Draien was waiting for the second round to start he daydreamed about a night with Vicos; cuddling, stroking each other’s hair, kissing… and decided to win. If Vicos tried to get away with his promise just because Draien was his friend, that would not do.

Draien got through the second round as he had the first one. Now he also had the determination to do so. Draien knew Vicos liked other people’s company and paid a lot of attention to people when he was socializing, but for once he wanted to be able to have all that attention on himself.

It felt like a selfish thing to want, but Draien couldn’t help himself. He got ready for the last round, glimpsing at Vicos before he took a bow in his hand. His ears were burning from embarrassment. Hopefully he would never have to tell Vicos what he wanted.

In the competition you didn’t have to shoot perfectly, you only had to shoot better than everyone else, and Draien felt like that was why he even had a chance of winning. But now he was the last shooter, and the girl he had talked to before had shot so well that if Draien didn’t hit near the center she would win. Taking his sweet time concentrating Draien drew his last arrow, and exhaled to steady his aim.

The arrow hit the target dead center. There were no cheers, and Draien was frankly as surprised about the result than anyone else was. Dito, the referee who was standing next to Vicos clapped his hands. “We have a winner,” he announced. “Please, follow me. The rest of you now have time to greet Vicos, one at a time. Make a line and be civilized.”

Dito gestured to Draien, and he followed him behind the wall lining the area. He turned to Draien and flashed him a huge grin. “Congratulations on winning,” he said. “I’m happy for you, but Vicos is even happier, wait until he gets here.”

Dito turned around to go back to the other side of the wall, but Draien stopped him. “Can I ask you something?” he said. “Do you know why Vicos wanted me to win? Does he intend to get away from the promise?”

A secretive smile spread on Dito’s lips. “I will make sure he doens’t get away from his promise,” he said. “But believe me when I say that he doesn’t intend to.”

That being said Dito disappeared on the other side of the wall. Draien sighed slightly, not as happy about the win as he felt he should have been. He was mostly nervous about facing Vicos. Would he have to confess what he had wanted to do with him? He had dreamed of kissing Vicos for a long time, would that come true? How much did he want it to come true?

It didn’t take too long for Vicos to come to Draien. When he saw Draien he immediately burst into a giant smile. “You did it,” he said, and gave Draien an enthusiastic hug. “At first I was afraid you wouldn’t want to, but I’m glad you did.”

Dito had followed Vicos, and was now gesturing to the two to follow him. “Vicos, where did you leave your poor wagon driver?” Dito asked when they got outside of the archery grounds.

“How did you know I came on a wagon?” Vicos asked, and explained shortly where he had told the driver to wait. “And besides, can’t we walk to the pleasure house?”

Dito scoffed. “Of course I know,” he said. “Yes, we are walking there but the driver deserves to go home and not wait for you until morning. After I show you to the room I will deliver a hand-written order from you to the driver to go home now and come pick you up tomorrow.”

As he watched Vicos and Dito talk, Draien wondered what the two had been through together. He hadn’t heard almost any stories from the time Vicos had run away from home, but from the way Vicos and Dito were in each other’s presence he could deduce that they were really close.

Draien felt a tinge of envy about that relationship. Not because he wanted to have Vicos completely to himself – he had long ago made his peace with the thought that it was likely that nobody ever could – it was more because he didn’t have that kind of a relationship with anyone. His relationship to Vicos was the closest to that, but Draien had way too many romantic feelings for Vicos to compare it to an intimate mutual friendship.

Draien’s train of thought halted when he noticed they had come to the main door of the pleasure house. Before Draien had time to express the sudden flutter in his stomach Dito had led them through a more discreet door to the side of the building and into a dim room. There was a burning fireplace, some chairs, and an inviting bed in the room.

When Dito closed the door behind him and left Vicos and Draien alone, Draien could feel his heart beating fast in his chest. The flutter in his stomach was growing stronger.

Vicos sat into a chair in front of the fireplace and gestured Draien to sit in the chair beside him. He noticed Vicos was being uncharacteristically quiet and he even had a serious look on his face. “Remember when I said I had something to say to you?” he asked.

Draien hesitated. “I wouldn’t have remembered it if you hadn’t said that,” he admitted. “What did you want to say?”

Vicos stared into the fire for a while before answering. “To tell the truth, I have been avoiding this conversation for a while,” he began to talk. “Geras talked me into getting it over with today, but I still tried to stall, and somehow get reassurance from you – that’s what the whole archery contest was about. We’re here because this is a place you are allowed to walk away from, get away from me if you need to get away, and I feel safer here than in the palace.”

The way Vicos was talking didn’t help Draien’s nervousness, but he stayed quiet and listened to him. Vicos was being so serious that whatever this was, Draien wanted to hear it to the end. “The thing is…” Vicos inhaled deeply. “Draien, I want a relationship with you. And I don’t mean the kind we have now. You might think of me more as a good friend, and I’m sorry if this upsets you but I’m feeling all kinds of intense positive feelings about you. I’ve tried denying it but I truly love you, in a romantic sense. Thinking about doing mushy romantic stuff with you makes me want to squeal. I love you, and I can’t continue if I don’t have this conversation with you. You can take your time answering, you can… I’ll give you space if you need it. Just… give me an answer eventually, alright? Do you want to be my boyfriend? I’ve been told nobody would want that from me since it’s hard for me to stick to a relationship with only one person, but, you know…”

Draien raised a hand to interrupt Vicos. “Calm down,” he said. Vicos’s rambling had calmed him down a bit, giving him the reassurance he had needed. Draien was feeling a bit light-headed, and as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. He got up from his chair and knelt in front of Vicos’s chair, taking his slightly trembling hand into his own. “I already have an answer: yes, I want to be your boyfriend.”

Vicos squeezed Draien’s hands. “Tell me I’m not dreaming,” he whispered, leaning towards Draien. “We need to talk about what being boyfriends means to us, and–”

Draien silenced Vicos by standing up. “Let’s not worry about those things yet,” he said, climbing onto Vicos’s lap. His heart was pounding in his chest, but the way Vicos was looking at him told him that he was doing the right thing. “I won a night with you, and I already know what I want to do.”

There was a short moment when Draien wasn’t sure what to do to get what he wanted, but then Vicos tilted his head upwards. Draien took Vicos’s face in his hands and slowly bent down to kiss him.

The beat of Draien’s heart was so loud he was sure Vicos would hear it too. He hesitated, his mind racing with questions, but then Vicos gently took one of his hands and placed it on his chest. “I’m nervous too,” he whispered, the breath from his words hitting Draien’s lips. Draien closed his eyes, concentrating on Vicos’s heartbeat.

It was as if a thousand flowers had blossomed out in Draien’s heart when they kissed. He felt Vicos’s hands on his waist keeping him steady, his lips so skillfully guiding him deeper into the kiss. All doubts vanished from his head, and the only thing he knew was the sensations.

When they broke the kiss, Draien couldn’t help but smile. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, savouring the feeling of a sunny sea of flowers in his chest. When Draien slowly opened his eyes, he saw Vicos looking at him with such fondness that he had to kiss him again.

“I love you,” Draien whispered, nuzzling his face into Vicos’s neck.

Vicos stroked Draien’s hair and sighed. “I’ve dreamt of you saying those words,” he said, smile in his voice. “Actually hearing them makes me the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I really wanted to buy the silverflower for you. Can I buy it tomorrow?”

Draien hummed in agreement. “I could say the same,” he said and sat up to look Vicos in the eyes again. “I would love…” Before he could say anything else Vicos licked his lips, distracting Draien’s train of thought.

“Kiss me,” Vicos whispered, a hand already gently pulling Draien towards him. “ _ Please _ .”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! Kudos and comments always make my day ^^
> 
> i might write a smut chapter to continue where this story left off but we'll see...


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